“Why Angry Birds Don’t Make for Angry Children: How Psychological Science Got Video Game Effects Wrong” is the topic for the Stetson University Distinguished Psychology Alumni Lecture on Thursday, March 21, by Dr. Chris Ferguson, leading expert and prolific writer on the relationship between violent video games and violent behavior.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be at 7:30 p.m., March 21, in the Stetson Room, second floor of the Carlton Union Building, 131 E. Minnesota Ave., DeLand.

Ferguson, a 1993 graduate of Stetson, with a bachelor’s in psychology, received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Central Florida in 2004. His research on video games and violent behavior has been cited or consulted by the US Supreme Court, the White House, and the governments of several countries. In December 2012, he was interviewed by ABC News in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. His media appearances and contributions also include the BBC, NPR, LA Times, USA Today, and Washington Post.  He recently served as guest editor for an American Psychological Association’s special journal issue on the topic of video games and mental health. Ferguson is also the editor of Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications and co-author of The Everything Parents’ Guide to Dealing with Bullies.

Currently Ferguson is chair, Department of Psychology and Communication at Texas A&M International University.

For further information about the lecture, please contact Dr. Camille Tessitore King, associate professor of psychology at Stetson, at (386) 822-7093, or [email protected].